Upstate standout Craig hopes to earn spot in NBA

Torrey Craig knows he has an uphill battle ahead of him as he tries to land a job in the NBA. But that's just fine with Craig. He's used to being an underdog.

By MATT CONNOLLYmatthew.connolly@shj.com

Torrey Craig knows he has an uphill battle ahead of him as he tries to land a job in the NBA.But that's just fine with Craig. He's used to being an underdog.Craig played high school basketball for 1A school Great Falls and led the Red Devils to back-to-back state title game appearances. Despite earning 1A Player of the Year honors and averaging 24 points and 13 rebounds, Craig was lightly recruited and chose to play at USC Upstate.He made an immediate impact for the Spartans, earning Atlantic Sun Conference Freshman of the Year honors after averaging 14 points and seven rebounds per game.“Torrey came in here from a winning background and a small town where basketball was important. It was a source of community pride and he had a tremendous pride in himself and the team's success because of that experience, in my opinion,” USC Upstate coach Eddie Payne said.While individual success came quickly for Craig, winning as a team took some time. Upstate won just five games during Craig's freshman season, but followed that up with an incredible turnaround to finish 21-13 (13-5) a year later.Craig earned A-Sun Player of the Year honors after averaging 16 points and eight rebounds per game.“He came in and immediately competed at a high level. He did it that freshman year, where all of the young kids we had brought in were all playing a lot. We lost a lot of close games, but he managed to compete on par against everybody we played,” Payne said. “He didn't get down. He continued to work. He had never experienced a losing situation like that. The way he responded to it and handled it was terrific.”Upstate did not live up to its expectations during Craig's junior season as it finished 16-17 (9-9). But Craig continued to shine with averages of 17 points and seven rebounds.As a senior Craig again averaged 17 points and seven boards and led the Spartans to a matchup with Mercer in the A-Sun tournament semifinals before Upstate lost a double-overtime game on the road to the eventual A-Sun champs.While Mercer went on to defeat Duke in the NCAA tournament, Upstate was defeated by Towson in the CollegeInsider.com tournament as an era in USC Upstate basketball ended.Craig and fellow seniors Ricardo Glenn, Jodd Maxey and Babatunde Olumuyiwa saw their college careers come to an end on March 19, but not before they turned a program that was struggling to win double-digit games into one that was a legitimate A-Sun contender.“All of these guys had an impact. They all contributed,” Payne said. “All of those kids really did a great job in light of the difficulties they experienced that freshman year.”Craig is now ready to get the next phase of his career underway. He hopes that phase includes playing professional basketball.Craig worked out for and met with the Minnesota Timberwolves before the NBA draft, but he went undrafted. He also has spoken with the Washington Wizards.Craig hopes to get a shot to play in the NBA summer league and will then try to earn his way on to an NBA roster. He knows getting that chance will not be easy, but he believes his past experiences have prepared him for what's next.“It definitely makes you work harder. Coming in you have to prove yourself in order to get respect from people and prove that you can play at a high level,” Craig said. “It's extra motivation. Hopefully I can get a chance and make the best of it.”While some players may have preferred to play at a bigger school, Craig said that playing at USC Upstate did a lot to make him a better basketball player.“It helped me be patient as far as basketball, slowing the game down. Playing at a smaller school I was the main focus of every team's plays. I was heavily guarded. It gave me a chance to slow the game down and let the shot come to me,” Craig said. “It gave me a chance to be a better player and better student of the game. I built some good friendships with some players on the team, and overall it was a good experience.”If Craig does not get a shot to play in the NBA summer league he said he will head overseas to begin his professional basketball career or he will play in the NBA Development League.While he is waiting to find out his next destination, he is working out and trying to continue to get better as a player.“It's kind of nerve-wracking because you really don't know where you're going to end up. All you can do is wait,” he said. “It would mean a lot because I know I'm just as good as a lot of players that are going to play in summer league. If I can get a chance to prove it, I will.”

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